It is known, for example, from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,935,820 and 5,050,001 to utilize a single liquid crystal display (LCD) to produce a color image on a photographic material. The LCD uses digital information obtained from scanning the negative or from any other source.
In a typical wholesale photofinishing lab, it is often desirable to generate bonus prints along with the standard service prints. Bonus prints are identical to the service prints, however, they are generally smaller in size and are typically placed in a wallet or small frame. It is also desirable in wholesale photofinishing to provide greeting cards and/or text appended to the service print, in which case, special masks and additional lens are required. These special masks and additional lens increase the cost and complexity of the system and generally waste substantial amounts of paper due to the large mechanical masks. In addition, substantial change-over time may be required further reducing the productivity of the wholesale photofinishing lab.
The present invention discloses a method and apparatus which allows automatic and immediate change-over from providing typical service prints, to providing additional bonus prints, or greeting card-type prints, while maintaining desired tolerances and producing high quality prints without wasting paper. Additionally, the present method and apparatus does not require additional masks for generating of the additional print or text.
The present invention solves the foregoing problems by providing an active matrix liquid crystal display on a moveable mounting member, which allows movement of the LCD between a first and second position, thereby fully utilizing the width of the photosensitive material while also providing high resolution images.